Thursday, July 25, 2013

BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS 1970 (FOX)

A bizarre extravaganza.

Russ Meyer directed this film for Fox. Three beautiful women go to Hollywood to find fame as a rock band called "The Carrie Nations" and they find drugs, sex and sleaze leading to the death of one of them.

Meyer did an excellent job directing, but at the time I don't believe the studios were really ready for his kind of movie making. Dolly Reed, Cynthia Myers and Marcia McBroom are the three women who make up the band and find nothing but trouble on their way to the top of the charts.

The Strawberry Alarm Clock makes an appearance, which I think is too cool and yet the most unforgettable thing in this film is Robert Lazar as "Z Man" who turns out to be the oddest person I have ever seen in a movie. Lazar claims this role killed his career, and he may be right.

The rest of the cast is rounded out by Erica Gavin whose death scene is unforgettable, Edy Williams, Michael Blodgett, and Charles Napier. Cynthia Myers passed away in 2012 so now the "Nations are down to two. All three of these women are very attractive but my favorite is Marcia McBroom...what a gorgeous woman.

I would recommend this Roger Ebert scripted film to anyone who wants to see great movie making and a bizarre story and great music all wrapped into one neat package. Not your usual film by any means.

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